


Out of Harm's Way - A Frank & Alice Longbottom Short Story

by readingfanficsinschool



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-17 08:01:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29222118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/readingfanficsinschool/pseuds/readingfanficsinschool
Summary: This is a bittersweet one-shot that came to me very early in the morning. It's about the Longbottoms when they were being tortured by Bellatrix and about their love for Neville. Please read it. :)))))))))
Relationships: Alice Longbottom & Frank Longbottom & Neville Longbottom, Alice Longbottom/Frank Longbottom
Kudos: 4





	Out of Harm's Way - A Frank & Alice Longbottom Short Story

It was cold.

Not the kind of cold that wakes you up in the morning, reddens your cheeks or bites your nose. No, but the kind which seeps through your clothes and into your skin like a parasite, infecting parts of your body you didn't even know existed. The kind which tires your body out so much from trying to warm itself that you don't have any extra energy to talk. The type where memories of hot summers feel as though they were created by your subconscious long ago.

This was the cold Alice felt.

It was day two - no, three - since she and Frank were captured by the Death Eaters. Sitting there, alone in the dark, Alice thought back to day one.  
  
  


_Whatever it took to protect Neville. That was what they had agreed on. No matter what pain they had to suffer, neither one would give up their precious son's location. Although she had heard awful rumors about the Cruciatus Curse, she thought she could be brave and at least not show suffering in front of her captures, especially that Lestrange woman._

_However, as soon as the cursed words of the spell were spoken, Alice knew she had been mistaken. Pain exploded out through every fiber of her being. A scream involuntarily ripped itself from her throat. Tears streamed down her face. She tried to stop them, but she couldn't. It was like trying to stop a flood with a only chain-link fence. In the muffled background, she heard a frail whimpering that she only later realized was Frank beside her._

_All her surroundings, everything else faded away. All that was left was the pain. For the first time in her life, Alice wished for the sweet release of death. Anything to get away from this agony. It went on and on for what seemed like hours._

_Then, just as her body was shutting down and preparing to pass out of this earth, the anguish stopped. Her small figure was still shaking and trembling as she curled up in a fetal position on the floor, but the mind-numbing pain no longer controlled her body._

_"I must say, I'm impressed. I didn't expect you to last so long," Bellatrix remarked in a chilly voice. She let out a harsh laugh._

_"No matter, we'll break you down soon enough. Everyone has a breaking point, you know. You might as well tell us what we want to know now since we will get it eventually."_

_"Never," Frank ground out between his teeth._

_Bellatrix gave a malicious giggle._

_"Silly man, no one stands in the way of the Dark Lord. Soon, you'll be begging to tell me where the little boy's hidden, shouting it day and night." At this, she signaled Barty Crouch Jr., who grabbed the Longbottoms and dragged them into a small, but completely dark, room._  
  
  


Alice was pulled out of her reverie by more of Frank's screams. He was being tortured in the next room. Since hurting them together hadn't worked, the Death Eaters had been taking them out one after the other, daily.

Suddenly, the screams stopped. For a moment, Alice assumed the worst, until the door was thrown open and her husband was tossed in. He was still shaking like someone who had been what Muggles called "electrified", letting out small whimpers. She crawled over to him and pulled his head onto her lap. She threaded her fingers through his hair and trailed kisses over his forehead.

Alice began to softly sing one of her favorite lullabies, the one Neville begged for each night.

_Lavender's blue, dilly, dilly_  
_Lavender's green_  
_When I am king, dilly, dilly_  
_You shall be queen:_  
_Who told you so, dilly, dilly_  
_Who told you so?_  
_'Twas my own heart, dilly, dilly_  
_That told me so._

_I love to dance, dilly, dilly_  
_I love to sing_  
_When I am queen, dilly, dilly_  
_You'll be my king:_  
_Who told me so, dilly, dilly_  
_Who told me so?_  
_I told myself, dilly, dilly_  
_I told me so_

_Let the birds sing, dilly, dilly_  
_And the lambs play_  
_We shall be safe, dilly, dilly_  
_Out of harm's way_

Alice knew at that moment that it all was worth it. Every involuntary convulsion, every second of anguish. She would go through it every day for the rest of her life for Neville's sake. So _he_ could be out of harm's way. Delicately, she sang her favorite verse again, changing the words slightly.

_Let the birds sing, dilly, dilly_  
_And the lambs play_  
_He shall be safe, dilly, dilly_  
_Out of harm's way_

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! This is the first one-shot I've ever written so I'd appreciate lots of feedback and constructive criticism. Tell me what you liked/hated about it. Love y'all! <3


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